Tiwai Point lies at the entrance to Bluff Harbour on the southern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. A spit which extends from the western end of the Awarua Plain, it lies between Awarua Bay to the north and Foveaux Strait to the south. It is known for the Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter, one of the largest industrial facilities in New Zealand. [1] However, in July 2020 it was announced by Rio Tinto that the aluminium smelter would close in August 2021. [2] [3]
The rocks at the tip of Tiwai Point have been identified as an Important Bird Area by BirdLife International because they are home to a breeding colony of Foveaux shags. [4]
Tiwai Point is one of the two remaining locations where the critically endangered Foveaux looper moth lives. [5] A. frivola is at high risk of extinction, and has already disappeared from one of its three known localities. [6] Its main population exists on an area at Tiwai Point of less than 25 m² of coastal vegetation.
In 1980, a vehicle with 10 people failed to take a turn on the Tiwai Point causeway, crashing through a barrier and falling into the water. Seven people died, including five who were never recovered. [7]
Riverton is a small town 30 kilometres west of Invercargill and located on the south-eastern shorelines of the Jacobs River Estuary. This is formed by the Aparima and Pourakino rivers, leading through a narrow outflow channel into Foveaux Strait. Accessible via State Highway 99 on the Southern Scenic Route, the main part of the town is on flat land and the northern end of Oreti Beach. South Riverton is built on the hills between the eastern shore of the estuary and Taramea Bay.
The aluminium division of Rio Tinto is a subsidiary of Rio Tinto, based in Montreal. It was created on 15 November 2007 as the result of the merger between Rio Tinto PLC's Canadian subsidiary, Rio Tinto Canada Holding Inc., and Canadian company Alcan Inc. On the same date, Alcan Inc. was renamed Rio Tinto Alcan Inc..
Bluff, previously known as Campbelltown and often referred to as "The Bluff", is a town and seaport in the Southland region, on the southern coast of the South Island of New Zealand. It is the southernmost town in mainland New Zealand and, despite Slope Point and Stewart Island being further south, Bluff is colloquially used to refer to the southern extremity of the country. According to the 2018 census, the resident population was 1,797, a decrease of 6 since 2013.
Manapōuri Power Station is an underground hydroelectric power station on the western arm of Lake Manapouri in Fiordland National Park, in the South Island of New Zealand. At 850 MW installed capacity, it is the largest hydroelectric power station in New Zealand, and the second largest power station in New Zealand. The station is noted for the controversy and environmental protests by the Save Manapouri Campaign against the raising the level of Lake Manapouri to increase the station's hydraulic head, which galvanised New Zealanders and were one of the foundations of the New Zealand environmental movement.
The Save Manapouri campaign was an environmental campaign waged between 1969 and 1972 in New Zealand to prevent the raising of the levels of lakes Manapouri and Te Anau as part of the construction of the Manapouri Power Project.
Punakaiki is a small community on the West Coast of the South Island of New Zealand, between Westport and Greymouth. The community lies on the edge of the Paparoa National Park.
Manapouri is a small town in Southland / Fiordland, in the southwest corner of the South Island, in New Zealand. The township is the westernmost municipality in New Zealand. Located at the edge of the Fiordland National Park, on the eastern shore of Lake Manapouri, close to its outflow into the Waiau River, tourist boat services are based in the town.
The Southland Plains is a general name given to several areas of low-lying land in the South Island of New Zealand, separated by the rise of the Hokonui Hills in the north. It forms a sizeable area of Southland region and encompasses its two principal settlements the city of Invercargill and the town of Gore. The Southland Plains include some of New Zealand's most fertile farmland.
The Awarua Plain is a large area of wetland to the east of Bluff, New Zealand. Covering an area of around 600 km², the plain stretches for 35 kilometres along the coast of Foveaux Strait. This stretch of coast includes the peninsula of Tiwai Point, Awarua Bay, the Waituna Lagoon, and Toetoes Bay. The Mataura River is the major river responsible for the presence of the Awarua Plain; along with the Oreti River, it is a remnant of the rivers from the Ice Ages that formed the Southland Plains (Murihiku). In addition, several small streams enter Foveaux Strait along this stretch of coast, mainly via Awarua Bay and Waituna Lagoon.
Toetoes Bay is the easternmost of three large bays lying on the Foveaux Strait coast of Southland, New Zealand, the others being Te Waewae Bay and Oreti Beach. The 190 km Mataura River drains to sea at Toetoes Bay, first passing through the Toetoes Harbour estuary. Thirty kilometres in length, the bay is the southern end of the Awarua Plain, an area of swampy land stretching inland for about fifteen kilometres. The eastern end of the bay is close to Slope Point, the South Island's southernmost point, and the western end of the Catlins.
Rio Tinto Aluminium is now known as Rio Tinto Alcan after Rio's takeover of Alcan. It was the world's eighth largest aluminium company. It mines and manufactures bauxite, alumina and primary aluminium.
The Solander Islands are three close, uninhabited volcanic islets toward the western end of the Foveaux Strait just beyond New Zealand's South Island. The Māori name Hautere translates into English as "flying wind". The islands lie 38 km (24 mi) south of Prices Point, near where Lake Hakapoua drains through Big River to the ocean due west of Te Waewae Bay, and 64 km (40 mi) northwest of the Putatara (Rugged) Point in the northwest of Stewart Island, or 56 km (35 mi) from Codfish Island west of that place. The islands measure 1.2 km2 (0.46 sq mi). Administratively, they are the only definitively non-inshore islands in a local government district — Southland District.
The Tiwai Point Aluminium Smelter is an aluminium smelter owned by Rio Tinto Group (79.36%) and the Sumitomo Group (20.64%), via a joint venture called New Zealand Aluminium Smelters (NZAS) Limited.
The Save Aramoana Campaign was formed in 1974 to oppose a proposed aluminium smelter at Aramoana in New Zealand.
Southland is New Zealand's southernmost region. It consists mainly of the southwestern portion of the South Island and Stewart Island/Rakiura. It includes Southland District, Gore District and the city of Invercargill. The region covers over 3.1 million hectares and spans over 3,400 km of coast.
Bluff Harbour is a harbour and lagoon in the South Island, New Zealand town of Bluff. The main port facilities are located close to the entrance of a large natural inlet which includes a large, low-lying eastern arm, Awarua Bay, immediately to the east of the promontory which gives the town and harbour its name.
Asaphodes frivola, also known as the remuremu looper moth or Foveaux looper moth, is a species of moth in the family Geometridae with flightless females. It is endemic to New Zealand, and critically endangered, occurring in a very narrow and specialised habitat at just two small coastal sites near Invercargill.
Asaphodes imperfecta is a moth in the family Geometridae. It is endemic to New Zealand. It is classified as critically endangered by the Department of Conservation.
Asaphodes exoriens is a species of moth in the family Geometridae. This species is endemic to New Zealand.
Manufacturing in New Zealand contributed $23 billion (12%) of the country's gross domestic product and directly employed 241,000 people in 2017, while manufactured goods made up 52% of the country's exports by value. The food and beverage subsector alone contributed 32% of manufacturing's GDP and 71% of exports.
Coordinates: 46°35′53″S168°21′51″E / 46.598034°S 168.364105°E